A group of military officers who claim to have seized power in Guinea said today they would hold free elections in the west African nation within two years.

However, it is still unclear who is in charge a day after the apparent coup in the mineral-rich but deeply impoverished state, prompted by the death of the long-term authoritarian president, Lansana Conté.

A section of the military remained in control of Guinea's state TV and radio stations, from where a coup spokesman broadcast a message saying the officers planned to hold "credible and transparent presidential elections by December 2010". In a statement yesterday morning, the military promised polls within two months.

Guinea's prime minister, Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, insisted today that the civilian government was still in charge and dismissed the military's claims to be running the former French colony, which is the world's biggest exporter of bauxite, an ore used in the manufacture of aluminium.

"It's idiotic, no, it's not true at all," Souaré told the Associated Press. "We are still in control and we are trying to normalise the situation."

The prime minister – who has been unable to talk directly to the country's 10 million people due to the military's control of the broadcasting network – also rejected claims by the coup spokesman that his government planned to import foreign mercenaries to regain power.

"We have no intention of bringing in mercenaries," he said. "In fact, we haven't even asked our own armed forces to intervene."

Aboubacar Somparé, the leader of Guinea's parliament, who according to the constitution should have become interim president following Conté's death, told Reuters that he was in "a safe place" and that the coup plotters were looking for him.

"The international community must mobilise to prevent the military from interrupting the democratic process as laid down by the constitution," he said.

The officers involved in the coup have styled themselves as a "national council for democracy" but it remains unclear whether represent the entire military or only a faction within it.

Regional analysts fear there could now be long-term instability in Guinea, which became increasingly deprived and plagued by corruption during the 24 years of Conté's rule but nonetheless avoided the conflicts which ravaged west African neighbours such as Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.

Conté, only the country's second ruler in 50 years of independence, also took power in a coup before transforming himself into a civilian president, winning a series of elections tainted by allegations of fraud. Despite his age, thought to be about 78, and years of ill health, he never groomed a clear successor.